A Failed Task
by ArSommers
Summary: ["Her Dreams, His Reality" Book 7] Amanda Waller assigns Rick Flag the task of rounding up the escaped members of Task Force X.
1. Chapter 1

Amanda Waller let the stack of papers fall on the table with a thud. "Read it," she instructed Rick Flag. The soldier sighed as he thumbed through the reports. No sooner had he finally begun mundane military tasks as he began his life with June when he'd been pulled back into this Task Force X nonsense. Yes, it was terrible that these criminals had escaped Belle Reve (not to mention publicly humiliating), but Amanda didn't know this group like Rick did. Despite the rogue force's self-serving inclinations and violent tendencies that initially put them behind bars, they were still capable of compassion. Rick had seen it with his own eyes when the squad helped him defeat the Enchantress.

"There are fewer pages than I'd expected," Rick commented.

"But pages nonetheless," Amanda leaned forward. "These criminals have been running free for almost a year now, and the damage only continues to grow,"

Rick took a closer look, and then allowed himself a thin smile. "There's nothing here for Floyd,"

"Which, I'll admit, is surprising," Amanda said as she took a seat across from Rick.

"You ever think that maybe something in that man changed?" Rick asked. "A commitment to the greater good on behalf of his family perhaps?"

"Spare me," Amanda said. "People like this don't change,"

Rick wanted to point out that none of these people started as criminals, but to argue with Amanda was pointless.

"So what do you want me to do?" Rick asked as he set the reports aside. "These people are probably halfway around the world right now,"

"On the contrary," Amanda said, "Intelligence suggests that Digger and Croc will be meeting Harley in Gotham next week. She is under the impression that Gotham, being her 'kingdom' of sorts, is a protective bubble from the government. Therefore, our job is to pop that illusion and collect three birds with one stone,"

"In one fell swoop?" Rick clarified.

"Four if we can get our hands on the Joker, but I tend not to be optimistic,"

Rick rubbed his hand against his forehead. "I'm sure you're aware of how much manpower this mission will require?"

"Oh, I'm quite aware," Amanda said flatly. "But for someone of your stature, I don't anticipate this to be as hard a task as it could be. Neither Harley nor Digger are metahumans, and Croc can be taken down with enough brute force. Without Diablo's fire or Floyd's sharp-shooting, I'm confident you can get the job done,"


	2. Chapter 2

Harley beamed with delight as Croc and Boomerang entered the lounge. "Hello strangers!" Harley greeted cheerfully as she threw her arms around her guests. "It's good to see you two!"

"The feeling's mutual," Boomerang looked around the empty room. "So I guess it's just the three of us?"

"You guessed right," Harley said. "Deadshot is picky-choosy when and where he appears in Gotham,"

"More drinks for us then," Croc rumbled in his deep voice.

Harley nodded in agreement. "I like the way you think. Now, what have you boys been up to?"

Rick wasn't the only one plagued with doubts. His men, or at least the ones who accompanied him to fight the Enchantress, wore a somber look as they rode to their destination. Yes, these people they were trying to arrest were murderers, thieves, and criminals who needed to be put to justice. And yet, beneath that bleached blond hair, scaled complexion, and pockets full of diamonds, society had no right to label these people "lost causes". Rick and his men had caught a glimpse into the hearts of each individual, and as a result seen the potential they held to be a hero.

But whatever barriers of trust they'd built with the former Belle Reve inmates was about to be dismantled. Rick didn't want it to be this way, but Amanda had hassled the other officials until she'd been granted her wish.

It was almost…dare Rick even think it…criminal.

One moment the group of three was laughing; the next, glass from windows shattered as men in military uniforms stormed the lounge. The former Task Force X members instantly went into fight-or-flight mode, and instinct had them chose the former.

Punches were thrown freely until Boomerang shouted, "Hey, I know you!" Confused by this statement, Harley took a closer look at the surrounding faces. Sure enough, some of the assailants were reminiscent of people she'd seen in the not-so-distant past. It wasn't until she saw Rick Flag that everything clicked into place.

Harley hoped against hope that this was another hallucination, but deep down she knew the truth was standing right in front of her. The pain of betrayal cut deeper than she thought it would. Of course Harley had been wary of Rick since they met, but even she felt the stirrings of compassion when he and June embraced after the death of the Enchantress.

 _We let our guard down, and now we're paying the price._

As if he'd heard her thoughts, Rick turned his head in Harley's direction. It was then the two unintentionally locked eyes from across the room, and Harley saw the regret reflecting in Rick's eyes. "I'm sorry," they seemed to be saying. "I never wanted it to be this way,"

Harley hadn't even begun formulating her own thoughts when a gunshot rang out. Tearing her eyes away, Harley turned just in time to see Boomerang hit the floor.

"You killed him!" Croc roared as he slashed away at the attackers.

"I told you to hold fire!" Rick shouted through the chaos.

Harley stepped forward, not wanting to believe that her friend was dead, when a dart whizzed past her ear and settled firmly in Croc's arm. Another tranquilizer was fired, this one planting itself in Croc's neck. The giant gator paused, then swayed as the serum began to take effect.

Boomerang was dead, and Croc was going out cold. As all eyes turned in Harley's direction, so she did the only thing she could think of: she ran.


	3. Chapter 3

June knew something had gone terribly wrong the moment Rick walked through the door. Setting aside the book she was reading, she immediately got up and walked over to her husband.

"What happened?" June asked, twisting her wedding ring nervously. Rick avoided June's gaze, shrugged off his jacket, and placed it on a coat hanger. "Exactly what we feared," he said with a dead tone to his voice. "They resisted. And one of our new men…he killed him. Boomerang,"

The image of the scruffy Aussie floated through June's mind. Wrapping her arms around Rick, June said, "Baby, I'm so sorry," And she was. She knew how much the Task Force X inmates meant to him.

Rick returned the gesture by holding onto his wife tightly. "It wasn't supposed to be like this," he said. "They were supposed to be sent back to Belle Reve. Nobody was supposed to die,"

"I know," June said soothingly, feeling his pain as if it were her own. "I know,"


	4. Chapter 4

Harley heard the door open then close as the Joker returned. She quickly wiped away the last of her tears, hoping her eyes weren't noticeably red from crying. He may be her one and only puddin', but Harley never let anyone see her cry if she could help it.

"Harley?" the Joker asked, surprised that she would be here at this hour.

"They killed Boomerang," she said, answering a slew of questions before they could be asked. "They…they came to take us back to Belle Reve, and they killed him,"

A dark looked crossed the Joker's face. "Who's they," he asked, "And where were you attacked?"

"Amanda Waller's team, at the lounge between Fifth and Kennington," Harley got up from her seated position and hugged the Joker. She couldn't get the images from earlier out of her head. Perhaps if she held onto her man long enough…

…But the Joker pulled away, a scheme already cooking up in the dark recesses of his mind.

"Can't you hold me a little longer?"

"No," the Joker said flatly. "We can't have that team walking around like they own Gotham. Have they forgotten who the king and queen are of this town?" He stormed out of the room, mumbling something about outsiders having no respect, leaving Harley alone once gain.

Harley quietly sat down and wrapped her arms around herself. Maybe if she held on tightly, she could keep herself from falling apart.

[Author note: While I have an outline for the remainder of the "Her Dreams, His Reality" series, I have been working on other projects as of late. I also apologize for turning off my Private Messaging, but as some of you may have experienced there seem to be un-wanted messages that go around every once in a while, so I figure it's best to avoid any uncomfortable situations before they happen. Thank you for understanding and happy writing and reading to all!]

[Update: The final story in this series is "The Spark of Sanity"]


End file.
